NTU Undergraduates' research April 2014 - Biosciences | Seite 123

Abstract
This study looks at the current situation of land reclamation in Canada. The emphasis focuses on
alternative technologies that can be applied to operations to minimise their impact on the
environment. The study looks at current practises available within in situ and open pit mining,
highlighting its advantages and disadvantages and possible ways for improvement. It showed that
the amount of active operations that have been reclaimed or are in the process is 10%, considering
oil sands have been operational for half a century. Key issues look at the Air, Water and Land
impacts that operations cause, and ways to reduce these by the use of innovative technologies such
as; Water pilot treatments to limit fresh water use and promote water recycling, Algal projects to
use waste CO₂ to produce bio oils to benefit other industries and the offsetting of land to
compensate for the impact. Within this, an operational oil sand; Foster Creek and an emerging oil
sand; Telephone Lake will be analysed. Information shows Foster Creek uses Steam Assisted Gravity
Drainage, thought to be the best commercial operation within the industry, Telephone Lake is also
planning on using this technique, which shows promise for the industry. This study shows updates
on the Foster Creek operation, which in turn is applied to the Telephone Lake operation to ensure
that they implement techniques that have worked well, and combat areas where figures have not
been good.
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